


Luke doesn't know

by theyregonnabelegends



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Alex Mercer Has A Sibling (Julie and The Phantoms), Boys are alive, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Multi, Set in the 90s, mentioned Homophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:46:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28234890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theyregonnabelegends/pseuds/theyregonnabelegends
Summary: Being able to check up on his little sister is the one thing that keeps Alex coming back to church, even when his parents make it harder and harder for him every week. Reggie does his best to help him through the more difficult Sundays and in the process, realizes his feelings for Alex aren't just platonic. While Alex and Reggie are trying to figure out their feelings for each other, they're also faced with the reality of their feelings for Luke, and the possibility of Luke's feelings for them.
Relationships: Alex Mercer/Luke Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex Mercer/Luke Patterson/Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex Mercer/Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms), Luke Patterson/Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 110





	Luke doesn't know

For four months after Alex turned eighteen and moved out of his parents' house, he still went to church every Sunday. Alex didn't want to go to church or even see his parents at all, but church was the one place he could see his little sister and check on her. Dani was sixteen and had told Alex a month before he moved out that she was bisexual. The protective older brother thing that Alex already had just intensified when he found out she was also queer and in a similar boat as he had been. He wanted to be there for her as much as he could until she turned eighteen and he could help her get out of their parents' house like he had.

After just two weeks of Alex going to church on his own and returning to the apartment he shared with Luke and Reggie on the verge of tears because of some shit either his parents or the pastor had said, Reggie and Luke decided they would go with him. They never went in of course, or even parked the band's van in the church parking lot, because they all knew the bad influences tangent that Alex's parents would get on if Sunset Curve even got mentioned, but they just drove Alex there and back and were there for emotional support whenever Alex needed them.

After another two weeks, one of Luke's coworkers at the coffeeshop down the road from their apartment quit and he got asked to take on their Sunday morning shifts. They were consistently barely scraping by on rent and needed the money, and after talking about it with the other boys, Luke decided to take the extra shifts. That meant the weekly trip to church was just Alex and Reggie.

It was a month and a half later that Reggie watched Alex run to the van in tears, breaking down in Reggie's arms once he had gotten into the van, and telling him that his parents were trying to push him to go see some new doctor in the area, that they were convinced she could "fix his problem." Reggie spent an hour calming him down, reminding him of all the things that he had worked through, reminding him that there was nothing about him that needed to be fixed, that he wasn't broken. It was that day that Reggie kissed him. He wasn't planning to, it wasn't something he thought very hard about doing, it just felt natural in the moment. He was holding Alex, wiping the tears out of his eyes, making some dumb joke to make him chuckle, pressing a kiss to Alex's cheek, pressing a kiss to Alex's lips. He hadn't expected to do it. He hadn't expected Alex to kiss back.

It was every week after that, that Alex and Reggie spent at least an hour after Alex left church in the back of Sunset Curve's van making out. There was an unspoken agreement between the two of them that Luke didn't need to know about this. It wasn't like they were dating. It was just making out. Two best friends, just ever so slightly adjusting the boundaries of their friendship to include kissing each other. And then a little bit of extra touching too. And then Alex awkwardly positioned in the floorboards of the backseat of the van, on his knees, unbuckling Reggie's belt and- Maybe the adjustments to their friendship weren't so slight. They didn't tell Luke.

It was almost five months after Alex's eighteenth birthday when Reggie again spotted Alex running toward the van. For a split second he was concerned. Alex running out of church almost always meant something really bad had happened. Then Reggie noticed the grin on his face and a moment later, saw Dani running into view as well, chasing after her brother. Alex climbed into the front seat with Reggie and reached back into the back to manually unlock the backseat door for his sister who reached the van just a few moments later and climbed in as well. Alex cheered and reached to hug her as best as he could from the front seat reaching into the back seat. Dani was laughing and grinning but pushed her brother away to attempt to sit him back down in the front seat.

"Alex, sit down! Reggie, you gotta drive us outta here quick before my parents realize I didn't go home with Leah." Dani said, and Alex did sit down and buckle his seatbelt. Dani buckled her's as well and Reggie, knowing better than to take too long to question this, started driving.

"Okay, you and Leah killed that though, Luke and Reggie could never have successfully snuck me out of our parents' overly careful watch." Alex said.

"Hey! I could have tried!" Reggie said, acting offended. Alex rolled his eyes, knowing that neither of his two best friends could have snuck him away in broad daylight. At night, sneaking out of the house, they could and actually had done a half decent job, only getting themselves caught a few times, but in broad daylight? Neither of them were subtle enough.

"This may or may not have been the first time Leah and I have pulled one over on our parents. Usually we're doing it to spend more time together though, not less." Dani said and Alex twisted around to give her a look.

"Leah?" Alex asked. Dani couldn't hide the smile on her face.

"Maybe." Dani said and Alex grinned.

"Holy shit, Dani! See, this is why you and I have to figure out a way to communicate outside that fucking church. You're over here with your first girlfriend, I'm over here with-" Alex gestured at Reggie. "And neither of us can say anything in front of Mom and Dad!"

"I'm sorry, what was this?" Dani asked, mimicking Alex's gesture at Reggie.

"I'm also wondering that. Didn't realize the definition of our relationship could be summed up in a gesture." Reggie teased Alex.

"You wanna try and put it into words?" Alex asked. Reggie opened his mouth to speak and then glanced back at Dani in the rearview mirror and closed his mouth again. He paused for a moment, rethinking and then spoke.

"Basically, your brother was my bisexual awakening and we're figuring that out." Reggie said.

"Alex? Really? I woulda guessed Luke." Dani said and Alex glared at her.

"Hey, fuck you too. I'm hot, I can cause a sexuality crisis just as easily as Luke can." Alex said.

"Gross." Dani said.

"You know, we can still drop you off at Leah's for the day. You don't have to come hang out with your really cool big brother who you've barely seen for almost four months." Alex said.

"First of all, cool people normally don't have to say that they're cool. Second of all, we've already put all this work in to get me here. We may as well enjoy the day." Dani said. Alex rolled his eyes but when he turned to face the road again, Reggie glanced over and saw that he was grinning.

"So where am I driving us to?" Reggie finally asked and Alex directed him back to their apartment.

Reggie parked the van in the first spot he was able to find, down the road from their apartment building. They started walking down toward the building, Alex excitedly catching Dani up on all the things he hadn't been able to say in front of their parents, when Reggie tugged on Alex's arm, gesturing toward the coffeeshop they were about to pass.

"Small detour to visit Luke?" Reggie suggested.

"Yeah!" Alex said, but before Reggie could even take a step toward the door, Alex grabbed his arm to stop him as his face fell into an expression of concern.

"What's happening?" Reggie asked.

"Um, Dani, quick thing before we go inside, Luke doesn't know. About, you know-" Alex gestured to him and Reggie again.

"Oh! Is he not, like, chill?" Dani nervously asked and Reggie and Alex both were quick to say no.

"He'd definitely be fine with it, maybe a little worried about the band, but cool about it for sure. We just kinda, haven't told him? And haven't really talked about telling him. It's not a secret, really, it's just not a known fact." Reggie said, rambling just a bit.

"So, it's a secret." Dani said.

"Yeah, it's a secret." Alex said.

"Yeah, that's definitely not gonna blow up in your faces." Dani said as she turned and walked into the coffeeshop. Alex and Reggie shared a brief look of concern and followed her in.

Luke was at the counter helping someone else when he caught sight of the boys. A grin spread across his face and he quickly finished with the other customer so that he could move on to them.

"My favorite regulars! And holy shit, Dani, I thought you were permanently banned from seeing us bad influences!" Luke said.

"I am, so not a word to my parents." Dani said.

"Oh, believe me, if I ever see your parents again, I have some choice words ready, none of which will have anything to do with your visit today." Luke said.

"I've told you before, Luke, you're not allowed to fight my parents." Alex said and Luke rolled his eyes. He mouthed the word 'boring' at Dani, and pointed at Alex. Dani laughed.

"Hey, I'll fully support anyone who wants to fight Mom and Dad. Hell, I'll help." Dani said.

"Two against one!" Luke said.

"I'll make it three!" Reggie said and Luke reached over the counter to give him a low five.

"Et tu, Brute?" Alex said, pretending to be betrayed.

The bell above the door rang and a couple other customers walked into the coffeeshop. Luke eyed them and cleared his throat, forced to return to his job.

"Alright, what can I get you guys?" Alex, Reggie, and Dani all put in their orders and stepped aside to let the other customers order as well. They waiting patiently, Alex and Dani keeping up their conversation about everything they couldn't say in front of their parents, and Reggie occupying himself by catching Luke's eye as frequently as he could and making a stupid face to try and make him laugh. When Luke finally called their names out to let them know their drinks were ready, he was struggling to pretend to glare at Reggie and not laugh.

"What's wrong, Luke?" Reggie asked, with an innocent grin.

"I hate you so much." Luke said, but a grin broke through as he said it.

"Oh, of course you do." Reggie said, and Luke glanced around, making sure there weren't any customers looking, so that he could hop up to sit on the counter and pull Reggie into a quick hug, before sliding back down to stand on the ground again.

"You're off at noon, right?" Alex asked and Luke nodded to confirm. "Alright, well, we're just headed back to the apartment, so if you want you can meet us there when you're done."

"Yes, please. Reg, we've gotta remind Dani how much cooler we are than her brother." Luke said, winking at Dani as Alex rolled his eyes.

"You're annoying." Alex said and Luke grinned, and blew Alex a kiss.

"You love it." Luke said. Other customers once again walked in and interrupted their moment, forcing Luke to try and bring the grin on his face down to a reasonable customer service smile. "I'll see you guys at home, okay?"

"See ya, Luke." Alex said and waved goodbye as Luke went back to work and he and Reggie and Dani walked out and started once more heading toward the boys' apartment.

"I forgot how fun Luke is." Dani said as they walked down the sidewalk.

"I'm gonna try not to take personal offense at the fact that you didn't say that about me." Reggie said.

"You guys definitely need to tell him about whatever's going on with you though. I swear, that boy is desperately in love with one or both of you." Dani said, causing both boys with her to stop in their tracks and exchange a glance with each other.

"I'm sorry, what?" Alex said after a second, jogging to catch up with Dani who had not stopped walking. Reggie caught up a second later, still stunned silent.

"Come on, it's obvious. You guys do have eyes, right?" Dani teased.

"Luke is straight, Dani." Alex said and Dani rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, no."

"I've known that guy since elementary school, we've been best friends just as long, I live with him, I'm pretty sure I'd know if he wasn't straight." Alex said.

"Last I checked, your band name was Sunset _Curve_ , not Sunset Straight." Dani said.

"Okay, that's a good joke, and I'm absolutely stealing that when I come out, but also Alex is right. Luke's always been all about women." Reggie said.

"Like you weren't before Alex?" Dani pointed out and Reggie had to concede that.

"Okay, but even if we're entertaining the idea that he might like dudes, why the hell would he like us? We're his best friends." Alex asked.

"And what are you and Reggie? Or me and Leah? Or like half the romantic couples on TV? Falling in love with each other is kinda what best friends do best." Dani said.

Alex shot a look over to Reggie who was already staring back at him, a wondering and ever so slightly panicked look in his eye.

"Do you think-" Reggie started to ask and Alex looked away and started digging in his pockets for his keys.

"Okay, no, this conversation is not happening right now." Alex said, finding his keys and walking ahead of Reggie and Dani to get to their apartment building first and unlock the main door. He held it open for them and avoided both of their gazes as they walked inside and up the stairs to their apartment.

"You can't avoid the subject forever, 'Lex." Dani said to him as he hyper-focused on getting their apartment door unlocked and ignoring them.

"No, but I can avoid it till you leave and Reggie and I can have an actual conversation about it." Alex said and Dani sighed.

"Fine. Guess I'll have to wait till the next time we're able to see each other out of church to find out what the results of this revelation are." Dani said.

"I hate you calling it a revelation, Dani. It's not a revelation, it's a small piece of possible new information. A small piece of possible new information that is currently bringing back up thoughts I haven't had since tenth grade." Alex said, mumbling the last part. Reggie moved over to him and placed a calming hand on the small of his back, rubbing small little circles into it.

"Hey, come on. It's okay. It's like you said, we don't have to talk about it right now. Don't let anxiety brain run wild in there." Reggie said, bringing his hand up to tap against Alex's temple.

"You okay, Alex?" Dani asked, now looking genuinely concerned that she had accidentally triggered something.

"Yeah, I'm okay, I'm just- Just overthinking. You know how I am." Alex explained.

"Yeah, we do." Reggie said, smiling and pressing a quick kiss to Alex's forehead. "But we're not overthinking right now. Right now, I'm thinking we put on some music, bake that tube of cookie dough in the fridge, and pig out on sugar cookies until Dani has to go home."

"Sounds like a plan." Alex said, giving Reggie a grateful smile.

"I'm down for any plan that involves cookies." Dani agreed.

"Then follow me to the fridge! Alex, you're in charge of finding the music. Choose wisely!" Reggie led Dani over to their kitchenette off the side of their living room, putting her in charge of cutting the tube of cookie dough into individual cookies and pulling out a baking sheet out of a cabinet. Alex flipped through their CD collection and after a minute, the sounds of Ani DiFranco filled the apartment and Alex walked over to the kitchen.

"Wise enough choice?" Alex asked, as Reggie pulled him in to start dancing to In Or Out.

"You know this is one of my favorite songs!" Reggie said and Dani laughed at him.

"And you say you're still in the closet." Dani teased him. Reggie stuck his tongue out at her and started singing along.

"Some days the line I walk,

It turns out to be straight,

Other days the line tends to deviate,

I've got no criteria for sex or race,

I just wanna hear your voice,

I just wanna see your face,"

Reggie serenaded Alex as he made him dance around their living room together. Alex rolled his eyes, but he was grinning and anyone could tell he was loving it.

The three of them finished making the cookies, in large part thanks to Dani who maintained focus on the cookies even as Reggie attempted to pull her in to his dance party during Make Them Apologize.

"I'm not letting these burn, Reggie!" Dani laughed as she let Reggie twirl her around once before insisting on returning her focus to the oven.

"It's less fun singing your brother a song about women's empowerment, though!" Reggie complained, as Alex pulled him back into a swaying dance.

"Let her focus, she's the only reason we're getting edible cookies." Alex said and Reggie let himself be led around the living room in a slow dance that did not match the tempo of the song.

"Fine." Reggie said, pouting ever so slightly as he leaned his head against Alex's shoulder. This was a moment he couldn't complain about though. This was nice.

Luke arrived home as the album had looped back around the where Alex had started it, and In Or Out started playing again. On instinct, Alex moved away from Reggie, and Reggie couldn't deny that hurt a bit, even if he understood it.

"Hey, Luke." Alex said as Luke dropped his coat and keys by the door.

"We having a dance party?" Luke asked with a grin.

"We are, and lucky for you, I'm in need of a dance partner." Reggie grabbed his hands and pulled him in to dance. Luke smiled, immediately matching Reggie's energy and swinging back and forth with him. Luke started singing along, just like Reggie had earlier, and Reggie caught a glimpse of the knowing look Dani was sending Alex.

Reggie also saw that Alex was not loving this as much as he had earlier, when it was him and Reggie. He had his overthinking face on. Reggie cut the dance short, leading Luke over to the kitchen.

"We also made cookies!" Reggie said, using this as a distraction so that he could go stand by Alex who had taken up residence on the kitchen counter, sitting next to where Dani had put the cookies out to cool.

"Dani made cookies. Reggie preheated the oven." Alex said.

"And you?" Luke asked, getting a small stack of cookies in his hand.

"I was in a supervisory position." Alex said.

"He watched and danced with Reggie." Dani said and Luke laughed.

"Hey! I also chose the music!" Alex said, swinging his leg out to kick Dani in the arm.

"Hard work, indeed." Luke said.

"He did a wonderful job." Reggie said, and Alex smiled at him.

"Can't disagree. Ani is always good." Luke admitted.

"I will say I appreciated being able to listen to queer music without intense parental scrutiny." Dani said.

"This is what we're here for! We can be your gay haven, whenever you can escape home." Reggie said with a grin.

"Thanks." Dani smiled.

For the next few hours, they just hung out, Alex and Reggie successfully avoiding Dani's pointed looks or slightly leading remarks, and Luke seeming blissfully oblivious to all of it. As they closer to dinnertime, they knew Dani had to leave soon. Alex got the van keys from Reggie and after a brief goodbye with Reggie and Luke, Alex and Dani left. They got into the van to drive over to a park where they were meeting Leah, and where their parents would be picking Dani up about a half hour later.

"You're okay, right, Dani?" Alex asked as he drove, glancing over at his sister in the passenger seat.

"Yeah, why do you ask?" Dani asked and Alex sighed.

"I know what it's like to live in that house, kid. I know it's different for you, cause at least Mom and Dad don't know, but still. Our parents aren't exactly great people." Alex said.

"I swear, 'Lex, I'm okay. I'm good at acting how they want me to act, and I've got Leah, and all our other friends as a support system. Plus, I know I've got you, even if Mom and Dad won't let us actually hang out." Dani said.

"Okay, good. I just worry, you know?" Alex said and Dani laughed.

"Yeah, Alex, I know. That's your whole thing." Dani said, rolling her eyes.

"Okay, well, fuck you too." Alex said with a laugh. "I do things other than worry!"

"Reggie has a name, you know, you shouldn't call him 'things.'" Dani teased and Alex flipped her off.

"This is why we don't hang out." Alex said.

"You know, if we did hang out, and you had my wonderful insight and advice more often, you probably wouldn't be in your little love triangle mess." Dani said.

"If we hadn't hung out today, I'd still be blissfully unaware of my little love triangle mess, Dani! I miss being blissfully unaware." Alex said.

"You need to be aware in order to fix your shit, Alex!" Dani said. They came up on the park and Alex pulled into the parking lot and parked the van.

"I'll fix my shit, okay? I promise." Alex said, turning in the driver's seat to face his sister.

"Okay, we have to come up with a code, so that whenever you do, you can tell me even if we're at church." Dani said.

"What do you want me to do, say 'God is good' if it turns out Luke is in love with us?" Alex asked.

"Okay, no, that would be suspicious. Mom and Dad know you're basically an atheist just keeping up appearances. No, I'm thinking you like offer me a piece of gum if Luke is in love with you, but you and Reggie stay together, or like a chocolate if he's in love with you and you guys get together, or a peppermint if Luke's in love with Reggie and-" Dani started saying.

"Okay, hang on, so basically this code is my relationship status translates to you get something." Alex said.

"Exactly." Dani said, without a moment's hesitation. Alex sighed and pulled a notebook out of the glove box.

"Okay, write down each thing and what it means." Alex said, handing her the notebook. Dani grinned and started writing a list. She finished writing and handed the notebook back to Alex.

"I see that the option for 'Luke is in love with one or both of you, neither of you get with him, you and Reggie break up, everyone is sad' is 'a chocolate bar, sized proportionately to how messy your friendships are now.' What does that mean, Dani?" Alex asked.

"So, like, if everyone's good and no real hard feelings, it's one of those fun-sized ones. If it's so bad Sunset Curve breaks up and you guys can't live together anymore, it's as large as my face." Dani explained.

"I don't think that's a subtle code anymore if it's as large as your face." Alex said.

"Okay, so don't blow up your friendships and make it work out. The option for 'Luke's in love with both of you, you're both in love with each other and him, you're all happy and in a relationship with each other now' is a root beer barrel. That's subtle. Go for that one." Dani told him. Alex rolled his eyes. He caught sight of Leah, walking up to the park, and got Dani's attention.

"Hey, there's your girl. I think that means it's time for me to head out before Mom and Dad get here and catch us together." Alex said. Dani frowned, even as she waved at Leah walking over to them.

"I miss you, Alex." Dani said.

"I know, kid. I miss you too. We'll figure out a way to do this again soon, okay?" Alex said and Dani nodded. Alex pulled her into a hug and she clung to him for a minute before pulling back, and putting a smile on her face.

"Fix your shit, 'Lex. I expect a candy answer next Sunday." Dani said.

"Here's hoping I don't have to go find a chocolate bar as large as your face." Alex said, with a forced smile.

"Love you." Dani said.

"I love you too. I'll see you next week." Alex promised and Dani got out of the van, walking over to her girlfriend.

Dani and Leah waved goodbye to Alex and he waved back, before starting the van, and driving back to his apartment. He parked, walked upstairs, unlocked the door, walked directly past Luke and Reggie working on a song in the living room to get to his bedroom, and collapsed on his mattress. He kicked his shoes off, letting them fall off the side of the bed to the floor, and pulled his pillow close to his chest. He didn't cry, but he could feel the possibility of that coming. A knock came from his doorway and he didn't have to look up to know it was Luke and Reggie.

"I'm fine." Alex mumbled and Reggie came into view, looking concerned.

"You sure about that one?" Reggie asked.

"Hundred percent. Definitely fine." Alex said and Reggie crouched down beside his bed, taking one of his hands in his own and pressing a gentle kiss to his knuckles. "I could maybe use a hug." The moment Alex said that, he felt Luke behind him, climbing into his bed to fully envelop him in a hug and Reggie did the same thing on the other side of him. In a split second he was completely surrounded by his two best friends holding him. That triggered the tears.

"It's okay." Luke murmured behind him. "You'll see her again soon, I swear."

"She has a girlfriend, Luke. I missed her first girlfriend. How much else am I gonna miss in the next two years?" Alex cried.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Reggie held Alex close, braving a small kiss to Alex's forehead but nothing more in front of Luke.

"We'll figure out a way for you guys to talk more often. We'll figure out something. You're not gonna miss anything else." Luke said, and even though Alex knew it probably wasn't true, he took a moment to take comfort in that.

They laid there like that, Reggie and Luke holding Alex close, and Alex fell asleep without intending to. He woke up a few hours later to find only Reggie still with him.

"Where'd Luke go?" Alex asked, his throat dry and voice scratchy from falling asleep crying.

"He's getting food. We figured we shouldn't let you completely go to sleep for the night without dinner, so he's picking up take-out from that Chinese place on the boardwalk before they close." Reggie told him.

"I love that place." Alex said and Reggie smiled.

'Yeah, idiot, we know. That's why he's getting it." Reggie said.

"You guys are good to me." Alex said, smiling.

"We try." Reggie said. Alex glanced down to Reggie's lips and back up to his eyes, catching Reggie's raised eyebrow as he noticed Alex's gaze travel. "What was that for?"

"Just thinking about kissing you." Alex said and watched as Reggie's eyes flickered down as well.

"Luke is gonna be back any minute." Reggie said.

"So we should use our time wisely." Alex replied, starting to lean in. "Tell me you don't want me to and I'll stop."

"Please don't stop." Reggie said and closed the distance between them, going for soft and sweet at first before Alex tangled his fingers in Reggie's hair and pulled him in closer. Alex took Reggie's bottom lip between his teeth and tugged, causing a small gasp from Reggie. Reggie moved so he was on top of Alex, straddling his waist and kissing him deeply. He pulled back ever so slightly to push his hair back and out of his face and Alex had a revelation, staring up his best friend above him. His mouth opened before he could think twice and he spoke before he had the chance to regret it.

"I think I'm falling in love with you." Reggie froze where he was, staring down at Alex.

"Lo- Like love? Like _love_ love? Not like, we've been best friends since kindergarten love, but like I think I'm falling in _love_ love?" Reggie asked, shocked and rambling. And there was the regret Alex should've expected.

"Shit, Reggie, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that out loud, you're in the middle of a sexuality crisis, this was supposed to be casual, I shouldn't've-" Without warning, Reggie leaned down and cut Alex's rambling off with a kiss. It was Alex's turn to freeze where he was, as Reggie pulled back and gazed down at Alex with undeniable adoration in his eyes.

"Crisis over. My sexuality includes you, and that's all I need to know. I love you, Alex, and I'll fall in love with you in a heartbeat if that's where we're going right now." Reggie said.

"Thank fuck, oh my god, you had me worried I had ruined this for a second." Alex said, releasing a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

"Never." Reggie said, pressing another short but sweet kiss to his lips, before pulling back with a worried look on his face. "We really need to tell Luke now, though. And talk about whatever that situation is, if we think Dani actually read him right, or if she was reading too far into it."

"How would you feel about it? If he did have feelings for us?" Alex asked, hoping Reggie was going to say what Alex was thinking.

"I think I might have feelings for him too? If that's possible? I mean, if you don't then that's fine and I can work past whatever I have going on- honestly, this, right here, is my priority, Alex. Figuring us out can come first." Reggie said and Alex grinned.

"I think I have feelings for him too, Reg, and if Luke likes us, I'd really like to figure us out with him. It's always been the three of us, it feels almost wrong to do this without him." Alex said and Reggie grinned, bringing his hands to Alex's face.

"God, how are we so perfectly on the same page right now?" Reggie asked.

"You can thank Dani for kicking my ass into gear. She wants me to have, quote, 'fixed my shit,' by next Sunday. She created a whole candy based code so I can tell her how things went even when we're at church." Alex told him.

"Yeah, that seems right." Reggie said with a chuckle. They heard a key turning in the door and knew that Luke must be home. Reggie looked to Alex. "I assume you don't want him finding us like this?"

"Somehow I doubt that you straddling me is the best way to tell him we've decided to start dating." Alex said and Reggie pouted, stole one last quick kiss, and got up, offering Alex a hand to help him stand as well. They walked out to the living room together to meet Luke.

"Ah, you're awake! I was worried we were gonna have to wake you up to get you to eat." Luke said, placing the bags of food down on the kitchen counter and pulling take-out boxes out of them.

"Nah, I woke up." Alex said, leaning against the counter.

"His stomach sensed that his favorite food was near." Reggie teased.

"Oh, we all know Alex can smell this chicken from a mile away." Luke said, passing a container of said chicken to Alex.

"Do we wanna pretend we're actual adults and get out plates and eat at the table?" Alex asked, already knowing the answer.

"Dude, we're eating dinner at almost eleven pm, and you were crying earlier. I think tonight is a no dishes, eat on the couch, watch a movie kind of night." Luke said.

"Definitely." Reggie agreed.

"What are we watching?" Alex asked, grabbing a few of the take-out boxes to transfer them over to coffee table. Reggie followed his lead, grabbing the others.

"I'm gonna say it's your choice tonight." Reggie said.

"I'll even agree to suffer through one of your musicals tonight if it'll make you happy." Luke said, getting the three of them drinks from the fridge before coming to join them in the living room.

"You say 'suffer' like you hate them. We all saw you cry watching Sound of Music last week." Alex said, going over to their small video collection to find something for them to watch.

"It's Julie Andrews! Everyone loves Julie Andrews! What do you expect from me, Alex?" Luke said, settling onto the couch next to Reggie.

"You don't even have to worry, because I'm not picking a musical." Alex said, picking a video and turning to show them.

"Okay, Dirty Dancing may not be a musical, but it's definitely musical adjacent!" Luke said.

"Okay, well, you just said you'd watch a musical, are you trying to say now that you won't watch something musical adjacent?" Alex asked.

"No, I'll watch it, I just don't think you can say you're not picking a musical." Luke said.

"But you just agreed it's not a musical!"

"Reg, opinion?" Luke turned to ask Reggie.

"Oh, I'm not getting in the middle of this. We're watching Dirty Dancing, I don't care what genre it is." Reggie said.

"I'm gonna go with him on this one." Alex said, turning on the TV and putting the tape into the VCR.

"Okay, fine, I know when to shut up." Luke said, and Alex and Reggie both laughed.

"Yeah, okay." Alex said, settling in on the couch on the other side of Reggie.

"Hey, I do!" Luke said, and Reggie rolled his eyes.

"Luke, I love you more than life itself, but you have to know that you have never once in your nearly nineteen years on this planet known when to shut up." Reggie told him. Luke opened his mouth to respond, but Alex interrupted as the movie was beginning.

"I'm gonna let both of you know that the answer is actually right now. We do not speak for the next hour and a half." Alex said. Reggie immediately nodded, miming closing a zipper across his mouth and Luke gave Alex a salute.

For the most part, Reggie and Luke actually did fulfill their agreement to stay silent. The first half of the movie was the best for them, because they had food to eat and occupy their mouths with something other than talking. Once they had finished eating though, that's when they couldn't resist bugging Alex with little comments.

"I hate you guys." Alex mumbled as Luke teased him for getting emotional in the final scene.

"Aw, but we love you." Reggie said, moving to lean his head against Alex's and bring his hand to the back of his head, gently playing with his hair there and running his fingers through it. Alex sighed and leaned into the touch, shifting to lean his head against Reggie's shoulder. They stayed like that as the credits began to roll and it took both of them far too long to notice that Luke was staring at them with realization and hurt in his eyes. Alex immediately moved back and away from Reggie as he caught Luke's eye and realized.

"Luke-" Alex started to say.

"Are you guys...?" Luke trailed off, the question as obvious as the answer.

"We were gonna tell you, Luke, I swear, we just didn't know how exactly to say it, and it's really new-" Alex said.

"New like it wasn't even officially a thing until like two hours ago." Reggie added.

"Two hours ago? So, while I was out getting Alex comfort food to make him feel better, you were here, what, becoming his boyfriend to make him feel better?" Luke said and Alex watched as Reggie's face fell. Both Reggie and Alex knew that Luke had a tendency to get angry and defensive when upset, but that knowledge didn't make Luke being angry and defensive at them feel any better.

"We haven't really talked labels yet." Reggie mumbled.

"Luke, c'mon. Just give us a second to explain." Alex said.

"Sure. Sure, go ahead. Explain." Luke said, crossing his arms.

"We love each other. I mean, all three of us do, that's what years of friendship does. That's growing up together, going through tough shit together, working together, and living together. That's just us. Reggie and I are just figuring out that that love isn't just platonic. It feels really right in a romantic context too." Alex said.

"So, you're in love with each other?" Luke asked, some of his anger fading away into simple sadness.

"We could be. It's like Alex said. We're trying to figure it out." Reggie said, looking over to Alex. Alex held his gaze for a moment before glancing to Luke, and then back to Reggie, hoping he could see and understand the question in his eyes. Reggie nodded and took Alex's hand and together they looked back to Luke.

"You could be included in that. If you wanted to be." Alex said, hoping he didn't look as intensely nervous as he felt. If Alex wasn't mistaken, he thought he saw a flicker of hope in Luke's expression.

"What do you mean, 'included in that'?" Luke asked.

"Boyfriends? If you'd want to be?" Reggie said, nervously looking back and forth between Luke and Alex. Alex smiled and squeezed Reggie's hand, giving him a small nod.

"You'd want me like that?" Luke asked, and yeah, that was definitely hope in his expression.

"Luke, I spent half of high school having a crush on you and thinking about what it would feel like to kiss you." Alex confessed.

"And I only realized I was bi like two months ago, so I can't really cite feelings that far back, but I mean, you're ridiculously hot, Luke. That's just a fact. And the way I feel towards you has never been any different than the way I feel towards Alex, so if I'm realizing my feelings for him are romantic, that kinda means I'm realizing my feelings for you are romantic." Reggie told Luke.

"I didn't think it was supposed to be possible to feel like this for more than one person at once- I really- I thought I had to choose." Luke said and Reggie reached out with the hand Alex wasn't holding to offer it to Luke. Luke took it with a smile, intertwining their fingers.

"Not with us, baby." Reggie said and Alex saw the moment Luke's smile fully reached his eyes.

"Can I kiss you?" Luke asked and Reggie didn't hesitate for a moment before leaning in and claiming the first kiss.

Luke kissed like he needed Reggie in order to live, all passion and hunger and an ever-present desire for more. Reggie took his hand from Luke's and brought it up to tangle his fingers into his hair, earning a pleased little noise from Luke. When Reggie finally pulled away, Luke chased his lips, trying to lean back in for more, but Reggie brought his hand down to Luke's face, gently guiding his gaze to Alex, who was more than ready to lean in and take Reggie's place on Luke's lips. Luke leaned across Reggie's lap, meeting Alex in the middle, and kissing him with that same passion and hunger he had brought to Reggie's kiss. Alex brought his hand to the nape of Luke's neck, brushing his fingers through the hair there, similarly to how Reggie had done. Testing a theory he had, Alex tugged gently on Luke's hair and couldn't help but smile against Luke's lips as he let out a moan.

"I think that's my new favorite sound." Alex murmured.

"It's definitely up there for me too." Reggie said and Luke pulled back to be able to look at both of them.

"I guess we'll just have to keep doing this then, so you can hear it." Luke said.

"Mm, are you gonna be our boyfriend then?" Reggie asked the question that still was unanswered.

"Only if you guys are mine." Luke said, and Alex leaned in and pressed a short, chaste kiss to his lips.

"Of course."

-

The following Sunday, Luke called off of work and he and Reggie both accompanied Alex to church. Luke drove and, on Alex's request, parked in the church parking lot, pulling into a spot right by where the rest of the Mercer family was standing and waiting for Alex. Normally Alex walked to this spot, but today he let himself feel bold for a moment, knowing he would be getting a whispered lecture from his parents about good and bad influences right up until the service started. This moment was for Dani, though. To let her see the grin on her brother's face as he leaned forward from the back seat of the van to the front seat where his boyfriends were sitting, and asked Reggie to pass the bag of root beer barrels that they had stopped at the dollar store to buy. To let her see the quick kisses to his cheek from both Luke and Reggie, that they only dared to do since Alex's parents were very pointedly looking away at this point, acting like if they didn't look at it, then their son wouldn't be sitting in a van with the two boys they were convinced had turned Alex gay. Alex got out of the van with a smile on his face, walking over to Dani and putting his arm around her shoulders to give her a brief hug.

"Hey, kid." Alex greeted her, seeing the grin on her face as well as he slipped a root beer barrel into her hand.

"Hey. Haven't seen Reggie and Luke in a while." Dani said, casually taking the candy and giving the boys in the van a small wave and getting one back before Luke pulled out of the parking spot and drove away, back to the usually empty office building parking lot down the road that Reggie normally parked the van in during church.

"There's a reason for that." Mrs. Mercer stated under her breath.

"Do you have to bring those kids by our church, Alexander? You know how we feel about your little band." Mr. Mercer said in a hushed tone as they walked up to the church building.

"I was just running late this morning, Dad. They offered me a ride and I figured that was better than walking like usual and being late." Alex lied, hoping that answer would be enough for now. It seemed it was, with his father simply scowling instead of giving a response.

"We can talk about it later, Alexander." Mrs. Mercer said, and Alex knew that was code for 'Don't do that shit again and we won't have to talk about it.' Alex nodded and followed them into church, sharing a smile with Dani as they trailed behind their parents. The Mercers sat down in the same pew they sat in every week, and Dani caught sight of Leah and her family, giving them a wave.

"Can I go say hello to Leah?" Dani asked their parents.

"Just be back over here before the sermon starts, Danielle." Mrs. Mercer said. Dani went over and Alex watched as she said hello to Leah's family and then pulled her girlfriend aside, whispering and laughing and showing Leah something small- Alex quickly realized it was the root beer barrel he had given her, and that Dani must have told Leah about their candy code. The two of them looked cute and happy, and to an unknowing eye, looked just like two best friends laughing and talking together. To Alex, he knew they were doing what Dani had said the week before that best friends do best. Falling in love.

As soon as the sermon ended, Alex excused himself from his family, giving Dani a tight hug goodbye as always, and walking down the road to where Luke and Reggie were waiting for him. He noticed they had moved to the backseat while waiting on him and they didn't seem to notice as he approached, instead completely focused on each other and the slow but constant kisses they were trading. Luke was in Reggie's lap and Alex took a second to stand and watch them, appreciating the view of his two best friends. He noted in the back of his mind that they should probably get curtains for the backseat windows of the van if this was going to become a regular thing, but he figured he would worry about that later. For now, Alex opened the van door and slipped into the back seat beside them.

"Hey, baby." Luke greeted him, leaning over to kiss him.

"Everything go okay?" Reggie asked, giving him a greeting kiss as well.

"As well as can be expected. I'm definitely not sneaking Dani out again for at least a couple weeks, but she was happy to see you guys for a second. I can only imagine the teasing I'd get if she could have actually said anything in front of our parents." Alex said.

"Oh, she'd have been merciless." Reggie said with a laugh.

"You guys wanna go home?" Alex asked and Luke glanced down to Reggie.

"I mean, sure, but, um, Reggie's been telling me some of the things you guys have done in this van over the past few weeks. You sure you don't wanna stay here for a while?" Luke asked and Alex smirked.

"You know we only did stuff in the van so you wouldn't walk in on us? We've got three perfectly good beds at home." Alex said.

"Yeah, but you gotta admit, doing it in the van is kinda hot." Luke said. Alex looked to Reggie who was giving him absolutely adorable puppy dog eyes.

"Okay, fine. But I'm not getting into the floorboards to suck either of your dicks. Reggie and I did that once and my knee still cramps thinking about it." Alex said.

"You don't have to." Luke said, kissing Alex as he shifted off of Reggie's lap. He moved to the floor, positioning himself between Alex's knees. "I'll do it."

And then Luke's hands were pulling Alex's pants off and Reggie was kissing him, and Luke's mouth was trailing down his stomach and his thighs, teasing Alex everywhere except- There it was. And, okay, yeah, Alex had to admit doing it in the van was pretty hot.


End file.
